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Imelda Munster TD welcomes GAA stand against ticket touts

Sinn Féin Spokesperson for Sport Imelda Munster TD has today welcomed the stance taken by the Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA) in taking steps to stop the sale of overpriced tickets for GAA sporting fixtures.

Tickets for the Dublin-Tyrone All-Ireland Senior Football match have been selling on ticket website Seatwave for prices of up to €189. Croke Park yesterday announced that these tickets would be cancelled, and advised GAA fans to only buy tickets from official sources.

Deputy Munster said:

“I welcome the stance taken by the GAA to curb this trend. Whilst it is unfortunate for those who have purchased tickets from this website that they will no longer be valid, it is important that ticket touting is stamped out.”

Whilst Seatwave is a subsidiary of Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster is an official source for GAA tickets, Seatwave is not. Fans stand to lose out financially and could be refused admission to fixtures if they purchase tickets from Seatwave’s website.

Deputy Munster said:

“Gaelic Games are so important to our communities, and it goes against the spirit of our games to profit from the re-selling of tickets. I hope that other organisations will follow the lead of the GAA in this regard.”

“My colleague Maurice Quinlivan TD currently has legislation tabled to ban ticket touting. The Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill 2017 will allow for genuine reselling of tickets, but it will ensure that penalties are imposed on those who deliberately buy up and sell tickets purely for profit. Unfortunately Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael voted delay this legislation for nine months, however Sinn Féin is hopeful that the legislation will be passed, thus putting an end to the problem of ticket touting by next year.”